Carpet sweepers



June 30, 1970 I -r ET AL CARPET SWEEPERS Filed Jan. 16, 1968 m VENTOR V1 hwfw M 2% M M Q 1T0 /W 6 W United States Patent 3,517,404 CARPET SWEEPERS Gunter Leifheit and Johannes Liebscher, Nassau (Lahn), Germany, assignors to Gunter Leifheit K.G., Nassau (Lahn), Germany, a firm Filed Jan. 16, 1968, Ser. No. 698,275 Claims priority, applicitigrgsallermany, Jan. 17, 1967,

Int. Cl. A471 11/08 US. Cl. 1542 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to a carpet sweeper having a driven brush roller and at least one additional brush roller.

Such sweepers have many advantages, the chief advantage being that the dirt which is cast away by the driven brush roller is picked up by the additional brush roller or rollers and moved by it or them towards the driven brush roller. A further advantage is that the pile of the carpet being swept is straightened up by the additional brush roller or rollers in the opposite direction from that in which the main brush roller moves, and the dust or dirt is thereby loosened.

In such previously proposed carpet sweepers, however, the additional brush rollers are rotated by engagement with the floor to be cleaned and are independent of the main brush roller.

The invention has among its objects to provide a carpet sweeper in which some or all of the brush rollers are vertically adjustable with respect to floor engaging drive wheels of the carpet sweeper.

According to the invention a carpet sweeper has a driven brush roller and at least one additional brush roller in which the driven brush roller engages the additional brush roller or rollers and in which the driven brush roller and/ or the additional brush roller or rollers are, by means of one or more bearing yokes, either separately or together vertically adjustable with respect to floor engaging wheels of the carpet sweeper by means of a control member acting on a web or webs of the bearing yoke or yokes either directly or with an adjusting yoke interposed.

The carpet sweeper advantageously has four floor engaging drive wheels and two additional brush rollers. The additional brush rollers are rotated by their engagement with the driven brush roller. Vertical adjustment may be effected by the control member which is advantageously formed by a rotatable knob bearing a face cam.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carpet sweeper accord ing to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a corresponding part sectional side view; and

FIG. 3 shows a partially sectioned side view of a second embodiment.

It should first be noted that the drawing shows only those components of the carpet sweeper which are necessary to an understanding of the invention. Thus in FIG. 1 only part of the handle of the carpet sweeper is shown. The components which are not shown may be constructed and shaped in known manner.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 the carpet sweeper comprises a casing 1 of a box-like shape, made of a plastics material or metal, and having a rim 2 of a resilient material around its bottom edge. Three parallel brush rollers are mounted in the casing 1, a driven brush roller 3 being provided in the middle between two outer additional brush rollers 4. The bristles on the brush roller 3 enable it to engage and thereby rotate the smaller additional brush rollers 4, which in FIG. 2 are mounted independently of roller 3.

Each additional brush roller 4 is supported by a dirt container 5 each of which has a deflecting plate 6 and a filter 7. Each filter 7 is secured in the top wall of the container below a vent 8 in the casing 1.

Bearing plates 9 are secured to the inside of the two opposite side walls of the casing 1 and are associated with a bearing yoke 10 which cooperates with an adjusting yoke 11. The adjusting yoke 11 is pivotally mounted in the bearing plates 9 at its two ends and is movable by a control member 12.

Each bearing plate 9 is secured to the casing 1 by known means such as rivets 13, which each also serve to hold a plate 14 (FIG. 1) On the outside of the casing 1 at each side. Each plate 14 is made of a plastics or sheet metal material and contains a recess to receive a free bent end of a pivotable yoke 15, to which a handle 16 is detachably joined.

Each bearing plate 9 has an upwardly extending part 18 and two longitudinally extending parts 19 which are identical but arranged in mirror image to one another one on each side of the part 18. Each longitudinally extending part 19 is divided by folding into three sections a central section 20 of which is arranged parallel with and at a spacing from the casing 1, with the other two sections at an angle to the central section 20. Each central section 20 contains a horizontal slot 21 to receive the end of an axle 22 for mounting floor engaging drive wheels 23. Each pair of wheels 23 and an axle 22 forms a wheel set and two wheel sets are provided to cooperate with drive tracks 24 on the driven brush roller 3. Each axle 22 further supports one of the dirt containers 5 which is adapted to pivot thereon. The horizontal slot 21 allows limited longitudinal displacement of the axle 22.

The limbs of the bearing yoke 10 cooperate with the internal faces of the two bearing plates 9. Thus each bearing plate 9 has a pair of lugs 25, which are formed by cutting around three sides of a rectangle in the plate 9 and bending the lug inwardly along the fourth side. Each pair of lugs acts as guides for a side limb of the bearing yoke 10. The side limbs of the bearing yoke 10 each have a hole 26 therein opposite one another acting as journals for an axle of the driven brush roller 3. The bearing yoke 10 is loaded at its ends by springs 27, each of which has two limbs and a portion 28 which is bent into an eyelet shape to engage in an aperture in the web of the bearing yoke 10. The free ends of the springs 27 cooperate in known manner with the dirt containers 5 so as to urge the latter to their closed positions. In FIG. 2 the wall of the casing 1 is shown cut away on the right hand side, while on the left hand side the nearside wheel 23 has also been cut away to show details.

The control member 12 is in the form of a rotary knob with an integral bottom surface forming a face cam with a continuously rising and descending surface 17 to eifect vertical adjustment of the bearing yoke 10. In the peripheral surface of the rotary knob is a groove 29 containing a spring washer 30 which bears on the inner wall of the casing 1. An annular disc is advantageously provided between the washer 30 and the casing 1 to reduce friction between them. The two additional brush rollers 4 are mounted at each side of the driven roller 3 on shafts 31, both ends of each of which engage in holes 32 in bearing cover plates 33 forming side walls of the dirt containers 5. The holes 32 may be round or slot shaped, either horizontally or vertically orientated.

The position of the bearing yoke is controlled by the adjusting yoke 11 which enables the vertical position of the bearing yoke 10 and driven brush roller 3 to be varied. The adjusting yoke 11 is basically U-shaped with its limbs bent several times and supported at their ends in the bearing plates 9 and with its web cooperating with the guiding surface 17 of the control member 12- The vertical position of the adjusting yoke 11 and the driven brush roller 3 can be infinitely varied between limits by rotating the rotary knob forming the control member 12. The springs 27 ensure that the adjusting yoke 11 is always in contract with the surface 17.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 the driven brush roller 3 is mounted on the part 18 of the bearing plate 9 to be stationary at the same level as the wheels 23. A hearing yoke 10 has side limbs each of which is of inverted T-shape, the cross piece of the T forming bearing arms 34 in which the additional brush rollers 4 are mounted and the stern of the T forming limbs 35 which are guided between the lugs 25 on the bearing plates 9; as in FIG 2 the web of the bearing yoke 10' interacts with the springs 27 and the adjusting yoke 11.

' Thus in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 the driven brush roller 3 is vertically adjustable with respect to the wheels 23 and additional brush rollers 4 which are rotatable but not otherwise movable with respect to the casing 1.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3 the additional brush rollers 4 are vertically adjustable by a bearing yoke 10' and the driven roller 3 and the wheels 23 are rotatable but not vertically adjustable with respect to the casing 1.

In the specification reference is made to a driven roller brush and such references are intended to include a drivable wheel when not actually being driven. All references to the orientation of the carpet sweeper refer to the normal position of use.

We claim:

1. A carpet sweeper comprising, in combination, a casing; wheels supporting said casing for movement along a surface; a first brush roller adapted to engage said surface; at least one additional brush roller' having bristles engaging said bristles of said first brush roller; bearing means supporting said brush rollers on said casing for rotation about substantially parallel axes; and transmission means between said wheels and only said first brush roller to drive the latter during movement of said wheels along the surface in direction opposite to the direction of rotation of said wheels while said at least one additional brush roller will, due to the interengagement of its bristles with those of said first brush roller, rotate in a direction opposite to that of the latter.

2. A carpet sweeper as defined in claim 1, wherein said bearing means of at least one brush roller are adjustable, and including means cooperating with said bearing means of said at least one brush roller for adjusting the position of said adjustable bearing means in substantially vertical direction relative to said casing.

3. A carpet sweeper as defined in claim 2, wherein said adjusting means cooperate with the heating means of said first brush roller.

-4. A carpet sweeper as defined in claim 2, wherein 4 said adjusting means cooperate with the bearing means of said at least one additional brush roller.

5. A carpet sweeper as defined in claim 2, wherein the adjustable bearing means comprises a yoke having a pair of limbs substantially normal to the axis of said one brush roller on which said one brush roller is mounted for rotation about its axis, said adjusting means cooperate with said yoke.

6. A carpet sweeper as defined in claim 5, and including guide means for guiding said yoke for movement in vertical direction.

7. A carpet sweeper as defined in claim 5, wherein said adjusting means comprises a lever mounted at one end in said casing for pivotal movement about a fixed axis substantially parallel to said axes of said rollers, cam means turnably mounted on said casing and having a cam surface engaging the other end of said lever, said lever engaging intermediate its ends said yoke.

8. A carpet sweeper as defined in claim 7, and spring means cooperating with said yoke for pressing the same against said lever means.

9. A carpet sweeper as defined in claim 7, wherein said cam means comprises a substantially cylindrical member mounted on said casing for turning movement about a substantially vertical axis, said cylindrical member having at one end an operating portion outside said casing, said cam surface being provided at the other end of said member inside said casing.

10. A carpet sweeper as defined in claim 2, wherein two additional brush rollers are provided, respectively located at opposite sides of said first brush roller.

11. A carpet sweeper as defined in claim 10, wherein said adjustable bearing means is provided for said two additional brush rollers and comprises a single yoke having a pair of downwardly extending limbs each of which is in the form of an inverted T, said two additional brush rollers are respectively mounted for turning about their axes in the region of opposite ends of the transverse portions of the T-shaped limbs.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,246,353 4/1966 Farnsworth 1541 3,268,936 8/1966 Fukuba 1541 238,144 2/1881 Mueller 15-4l 240,224 4/ 1881 Bissell 1541 330,590 11/1885 Kelley 1541 346,641 8/1886 Castle 15-41 1,038,170 9/1912 Mason et al. 1541 1,319,836 10/1919 Boyle 15-42 1,786,864 12/1930 Pullen l541 1,879,752 9/1932 Kenyon 1541 2,228,528 1/1941 Miller 154l 2,239,276 4/1941 Smith 1541 3,145,405 8/1964 Himes et al 1541 182,346 9/1876 Bissell l541 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,073,942 6/ 1967 Great Britain.

6,583 6/ 1893 Switzerland.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner L. G. MACHLIN, Assistant Examiner 

